A STUDY OF THREE SPAN CONTINUOUS BRIDGE STRUCTURE: STUDY OF EFFECT OF NEW VEHICLE WEIGHT LAW ON STRUCTURES

AN EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL VERIFICATION STUDY WAS CONDUCTED OF A BRIDGE STRUCTURE TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF NEW VEHICLE WEIGHT LAW ON STRUCTURES. A PARTICULAR BRIDGE WAS SELECTED FOR TESTING ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA: (1) THREE SPAN CONTINUOUS STRUCTURE, (2) SKEW SRUCTURE, (3) ONE OF THE EIGHT ORIGINAL BRIDGES THAT WERE SELECTED FOR STUDY, AND (4) VERIFICATION OF THE MODIFIED ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES. THE ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUE PRESENTED IS A FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD WHICH WAS MODIFIED IN ORDER TO EXAMINE THE BEHAVIOR OF A CONTINUOUS THREE SPAN BRIDGE STRUCTURE. USING THE FINITE DIFFERENCE DATA, THE ANALYTICAL STRAINS WERE EVALUATED AND THEN COMPARED TO EXPERIMENTAL VALUES OBTAINED WITH THE BPR TEST TRUCK. THE CORRELATION WAS GENERALLY GOOD WHEN THE BPR TEST TRUCK IS IN THE END SPANS, WITH SOME DEVIATION OCCURRING WHEN THE LOAD IS IN THE CENTER SPAN. THE STRAIN DISTRIBUTION IN THE CROSS MEMBER DIAPHRAGM WAS PLOTTED. IN ADDITION TO THE TEST TRUCK LOADING, A EUCLID TS-14 SCRAPER WAS POSITIONED ON THE BRIDGE. THE RESULTING STRAINS OBTAINED ON THE GIRDERS DUE TO THE EUCLID LOADING WERE GENERALLY POOR. ONE CAUSE OF THIS DISCREPANCY WAS THE ERRATIC STRAIN GAGE MEASUREMENTS. DYNAMIC TESTS WERE ALSO CONDUCTED UTILIZING THE BPR TEST VEHICLE AND THE EUCLID SCRAPER. THE BPR TEST TRUCK INDUCED A MAXIMUM DYNAMIC RANGE OF STRESS EQUAL TO 4.5 KSI, AND THE EUCLID INDUCES 3.75 KSI. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT THE FINITE DIFFERENCE TECHNIQUE MAY BE USED FOR ANALYZING A THREE SPAN BRIDGE.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • 165pp, 45fiG, 13TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Maryland, College Park

  Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics
  College Park, MD  United States  20742
• Authors:
  • Heins, C P
  • Sartwell, A D
  • Looney, C T
• Publication Date: 1968-6

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Axle load force; Bridges; Continuous girder bridges; Continuous structures; Dynamic tests; Finite differences; Highway bridges; Loads; Regulation; Size and weight regulations; Skew bridges; Strain (Mechanics); Strain gages; Structural analysis; Trucks; Vehicle weight; Vehicles
• Uncontrolled Terms: Loading
• Old TRIS Terms: Continuous skewed slab bridges; Strains; Truck effects (Bridges)
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Law; Motor Carriers; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00209005
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 4 1994 12:00AM